It's Venomous, it's Bearded, it's... the California Harvester Ant
Welcome
to Pogonomyrmex californicus country (or should we say
desert?)! The scientific name above suggests that the organism is found in
the state of California, but it can actually be found in other U.S.
states as well as in Mexico (De Vita 1979; Navajo Nature 2010). If you ever travel to locations where
the organism is present, be on the lookout and
make sure not to get
stung.
We hope that you will enjoy your journey as you discover other intriguing information
about these venomous, bearded insects such as where they
fit in the tree of life, what habitat they
live in, how they are adapted to
their environment, how they reproduce,
their interactions with other species,
and many other fun facts. A plethora of
other organisms can be found on the
Multiple Organisms
website, which is hosted by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The header image displayed on each page was retrieved from
Wikimedia Commons,
an online repository of free-to-use images.